Tesla Model S launch

I was well and truly gutted last week when I was invited to the launch of the Tesla Model S in Freemont California and I couldn’t go.

Thankfully I know some people who did and the universal opinion seems to be very positive. A built from the ground up, luxury, high end 7 seater saloon.

I saw a Model S at the Tesla showroom in Menlo Park a couple of years back, it’s a very swish looking set of wheels. We won’t see a right hand drive model in the UK until late 2013.

The journey behind this launch has been long, difficult and fascinating but it looks like it might have been worth it. There is still plenty of skepticism about the whole idea of battery electric cars but the momentum now seems to be behind them. The nit picking and carping about battery costs and 'cars for the elite' are looking increasingly curmodgeonly. The news this week from Paris, finally a positive report from the BBC about the 'Boris Cars' electric vehicle rental scheme and the news that my Nissan Leaf has cost me around £5 per 1,000 miles for the last 4 months due to our solar panels gives a hint as to what's really going on.

A quote from Elon Musk, the guy behind Tesla motors.

"The oil companies said electric cars can't work, but the truth is, they don't want them to work. But here it is. They would say this car is the equivalent of a unicorn. Well, tonight you had the opportunity to ride a unicorn."